Tactile signing is a common means of communication used by people with

deafblindness Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful hearing and little or no useful sight. Different degrees of vision loss and auditory loss occur within each individual. Because of this inherent diversity, each deafblind individual's needs r ...

. It is based on a

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

or another system of manual communication. "Tactile signing" refers to the mode or medium, i.e. signing (using some form of signed language or code), using ''touch''. It does not indicate whether the signer is using a tactile form of a natural language (e.g. American Sign Language), a modified form of such a visual sign language, a modified form of a

manually coded language Manually coded languages (MCLs) are a family of gestural communication methods which include gestural spelling as well as constructed languages which directly interpolate the grammar and syntax of oral languages in a gestural-visual form—that ...

, or something else.

Kinds

Until the 1970s, most people who were deaf and blind lived lives of isolation. As professionals became aware of this population, attempts were made to serve deafblind people by creating manual alphabets or modifying sign languages used by deaf-sighted people. See for example

Helen Keller National Center The Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults (also known as the Helen Keller National Center or HKNC) is a foundation in the United States that provides services for individuals who, like Helen Keller, are both blind and d ...

LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired The LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, and is the oldest and largest of its kind in Northern California. History Founded in 1902 under the direction of Josephine Rowan as the Readin ...

and Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. Several methods of deafblind communication have been developed, including: * Hand-over-hand (also known as 'hands-on signing'): The receiver's hand(s) are placed lightly upon the back of the hands of the signer to read the signs through touch and movement. The sign language used in hand-over-hand signing is often a slightly modified version of the local

; this is especially the case when used by people who have learned to read sign visually before losing their vision as with

Usher syndrome Usher syndrome, also known as Hallgren syndrome, Usher–Hallgren syndrome, retinitis pigmentosa–dysacusis syndrome or dystrophia retinae dysacusis syndrome, is a rare genetic disorder caused by a mutation in any one of at least 11 genes result ...

. The sign language used may also be a manually coded version of the local oral language (such as

Signed English Manually-Coded English (MCE) is a type of sign system that follows direct spoken English. The different codes of MCE vary in the levels of directness in following spoken English grammar. There may also be a combination with other visual clues, su ...

), or a mid-way point between the two known as contact signing. * Tracking: The listener lightly places their hand(s) on the wrists or forearms of the signer to help them track the signs visually (as the listener knows the location of their own hands and is thus able to focus on the signer's hand(s) as they move in space. The listener using 'tracking' typically has a limited field of vision). * Protactile: Sharing some qualities with hand-over-hand signing, protactile involves the use of signs on the hands, wrist, elbow, arm, upper back, and when in a seated position, knees and the top of the thigh. Invented by deafblind people, protactile communicates not just words but also information about emotions and the environment. * Tactile

fingerspelling Fingerspelling (or dactylology) is the representation of the letters of a writing system, and sometimes numeral systems, using only the hands. These manual alphabets (also known as finger alphabets or hand alphabets) have often been used in deaf ...

: A manual form of the alphabet in which words are spelled out (see

manual alphabet Fingerspelling (or dactylology) is the representation of the letters of a writing system, and sometimes numeral systems, using only the hands. These manual alphabets (also known as finger alphabets or hand alphabets) have often been used in deaf ...

) may be the best known as it was the method Anne Sullivan used to communicate with Helen Keller. Different manual alphabets may be used, such as the one-handed

ASL alphabet The American Manual Alphabet (AMA) is a manual alphabet that augments the vocabulary of American Sign Language. Letters and digits The letters and digits are signed as follows. In informal contexts, the handshapes are not made as distinctly as ...

or the two-handed manual alphabets used, for example, in Britain. Again, the listener places a hand over that of the signer. This alphabet is also rarely used in the United States. * Lorm: A hand-touch alphabet developed in the 19th century by deafblind inventor and novelist

Hieronymus Lorm Heinrich Landesmann (9 August 1821, Nikolsburg – 4 December 1902, Brno), more commonly known by his pseudonym, Hieronymus Lorm, was an Austrian poet and philosophical writer. From his earliest childhood he was very sickly; at the age of ...

and used in several European countries. * Tracing or 'print-on-palm': Tracing letters (or shapes) onto the palm or body of receiver. Capital letters produced in consistent ways are referred to as the 'block alphabet' or the 'spartan alphabet'. * Braille signing: Using six spots on the palm to represent the six dots of a

braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille disp ...

cell. Alternatively, the signer may 'type' onto a table as if using a braille typewriter (see

Perkins Brailler The Perkins Brailler is a "braille typewriter" with a key corresponding to each of the six dots of the braille code, a space key, a backspace key, and a line space key. Like a manual typewriter, it has two side knobs to advance paper through t ...

) and the receiver will place their hands on top. This method can have multiple receivers on top of each other, however a receiver sitting opposite will be reading the

braille cell Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displ ...

backwards. Additionally, simple ways of responding, such as a tap for 'yes' or a rubbing motion for 'no', may be included. In Japan, a system developed by a deafblind woman is in use to represent the five

vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...

s and five major

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wi ...

s of the

Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...

on the fingers, where the signer 'types' onto a table and the receiver places their hands on top to 'listen' (se
this page
for more info). What was especially challenging was communicating with children or babies born deaf and blind who had not had an opportunity to learn a natural (spoken or signed) language. Below are listed some of these attempts. * Co-active signing: The sender moves and manipulates the hands and arms of the Deafblind person to form sign shapes, or fingerspelt words. This is often used with deafblind children to teach them signs, and with people with an intellectual disability. * On-body signing: The body of the person who is deafblind is used to complete the sign formation with another person. E.g.: chin, palm, chest. Often used with people who also have an intellectual disability.

Communities develop

As the decades progressed, deafblind people began to form communities where tactile language were born. Just as deaf people brought together in communities first used invented forms of spoken language and then created their own natural languages which suited the lives of deaf-sighted people (i.e. visual languages), so too, deafblind people in communities first used modified forms of visual language and are now creating their own natural tactile languages. For the development of visual sign languages, see for example:

Deaf Education Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and othe ...

;

List of sign languages There are perhaps three hundred sign languages in use around the world today. The number is not known with any confidence; new sign languages emerge frequently through creolization and '' de novo'' (and occasionally through language planning). In s ...

;

Nicaraguan Sign Language Nicaraguan Sign Language (ISN; es, Idioma de Señas de Nicaragua) is a form of sign language which developed spontaneously among deaf children in a number of schools in Nicaragua in the 1980s. It is of particular interest to linguists as it off ...

. One of the most active communities is in the Seattle area of Washington State. See Washington State DeafBlind Citizen

Comparison to visual sign language

Little data exists on the specifics of variation between visual and tactile sign language use. However, studies suggest a significant degree of difference. In hand-over-hand signing, elements of deaf sign languages known as 'non-manual features' (such as facial expression) will not be received, and will need to be substituted with supplementary information produced manually. Common non-manual features used in Deaf Sign languages that are absent in tactile signing include raised eyebrows as a question marker and a shaking head as a negation. Tactile signing also resides within a smaller space than is typical in visual sign language. Signs that touch the body may be moved forward into a more neutral space. Other signs which are usually produced in an 'out of range' location (such as the leg) may be modified (either spelled or a variant sign used). Different rules govern turn-taking, greetings and goodbyes. An example of a language that naturally developed among the deaf-blind is Bay Islands Sign Language in Honduras.

History

In 1648 in England, John Bulwer wrote of a couple who were proficient in tactile sign communication:

References

* Frankel, M. A. (2002), ''Deaf-Blind Interpreting: Interpreters' Use of Negation in Tactile American Sign Language'', in Sign Language Studies 2.2, Gallaudet University Press. * Mesch, J. (2000), ''Tactile Swedish Sign Language: Turn Taking in Conversations of People Who Are Deaf and Blind''. In Bilingualism and Identity in Deaf Communities, ed. M. Metzger, 187–203. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. * O'Brien, S., and Steffen, C. (1996). ''Tactile ASL: ASL as Used by Deaf-Blind Persons''. Gallaudet University Communication Forum. Volume 5. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. * Bulwer, J. (1648) ''Philocopus, or the Deaf and Dumbe Mans Friend'', London: Humphrey and Moseley.

External links